The Wasted Life

I cry at the waste of my life
The soul pleads the mind to alleviate heartache
An absentminded absolution of survival
Happiness is an afterthought
Constantly recycled and mocked behind hope
The days slip by effortlessly
Reality laughs from the skies at another victim
The purpose never existed
The rouse to continue breathing remains forefront
The ultimate seduction
The prison sentence is long overdue
The system however has other plans
I am selfish one for wanting out of this world
People will grieve me
People love me
The ball continues to spin in amuck
Meaningless drivel will supposedly burn for giving up
Or perhaps question the definition of pain
This wretched ball has soldiers who praise reality without demur
Raised to be another pawn
I cry because I faltered
I cry for the confliction of wanting to falter
Life is wonderful
Life is beautiful
And I want to let it all go
The ultimate Failure or Hero?

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Editor’s Note

The number one question our editors receive is—what do the editors and judges look for when judging the contest? The number one answer we give is creativity. Unlike prose, writing composed in everyday language, poetry is considered a creative art and requires a different type of effort and a certain level of depth. Of the thousands of poems entered in each contest, the ones that catch our judges’ eyes are the ones that remove us, even just slightly, from the scope of everyday life by using language that is interesting, specific, vivid, obscure, compelling, figurative, and so on. Oftentimes, poems are pulled aside for a second look based simply on certain words that intrigued the reader. So first and foremost, be sure your poetry is written using creative language. Take general ideas and make them personal. In his infamous book De/Compositions: 101 Good Poems Gone Wrong, W. D. Snodgrass imparts, “We cannot honestly discuss or represent our lives, any more than our poems, without using ideational language.”